Maybe because the month of August is the pinnacle of the summer season, but it sure came and went fast.  Now that my kids are all back in school: two of them in middle school and one in high school, my life is settling back into more of a standard work routine once again.

Our big project this month was shooting a “no bounce” video that I plan to post to our web site and YouTube.  The project could have taken shape a number of ways, but I am delighted to report that we went down the path of using some local Zumba enthusiasts who danced up a storm for us.  None of the women were a fitness models; however, all were beautiful, fit and fabulous in their own way and they most definitely knew how to dance!  I was inspired watching them synchronize their dance moves on the fly and just generally have a great time while the video cameras rolled.  I am excited to participate in the next stage of the video production process and can’t wait to post the final output in a couple of weeks.

Stay tuned and please write if you have any questions!

Too much time has gone by since my last blog entry. Some good stuff has happened though and it’s worth sharing.

First: Capris are in!  Capris are in!  We sold out of the most popular sizes in our La Jolla Capris pretty fast and are delighted to announce that our replenishment inventory has arrived. We are back to having every size in every color available. Go check it out!

Second: Runner’s World Magazine August Edition (on news stands now) selected our Las Vegas bra as a Top Pick in the DD sports bra category!  RW does an annual roundup of the Best New Sports Bras and we were honored to be chosen.  Super cool!

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/1,7120,s6-240-320–14447-0,00.html

The review is drawing lots the attention to our Las Vegas style particularly in the DD size which is great, but we are hoping women who need a D cup or a B/C sized cup will give our sports bras a try too.

The RW pick of our Las Vegas bra has been hugely helpful in terms of ladies finding Sturdy Girl Sports, however, no one bra style fits all shapes and sizes.  In some cases our Santa Monica or Miami style is a better fit for a woman, so we are hoping ladies are open to trying another style if the Las Vegas isn’t quite right for them.

Third: The Boulder Camera, our local newspaper, ran a feature on my business which published in the Business Plus Section on July 16 (July 15th online) and a second time in the Business Section of the Hometown Weekly insert of the Boulder Camera on July 25. The response has been fantastic and shows me how many women in my own back yard have not heard of Sturdy Girl Sports. I guess I have lots of work to do in the PR department!

Thanks to those two features, more and more ladies are finding my web site and trying Sturdy Girl Sports bras and apparel which is awesome indeed.  We hope to get into more gear reviews and editorials going forward.

Upcoming Events: August 4 Sturdy Girl Sports will be at the Tri for the Cure Expo at Bicycle Village, 2802 Havana in Aurora, Colorado. Anyone participating in Tri for the Cure is encouraged to stop by and say hello! We’ll be offering race specials that won’t be announced except at the expo itself and in the virtual race bag. Good luck to all the ladies participating!

Stay tuned and please write if you have questions!

This is my 1st post and “why blog?” is a great question!  I am blogging because I thought it would be fun to share what it’s like to run a one person company and to be more connected to my customers.

There’s stuff about being a one person company I hadn’t thought much about until I got into this.  My “ah ha’s” may not be unique, but sharing helps me come to grips with them.  And somehow writing them out gives me power over them.

I call my “ah ha’s” the good, the bad and the ugly. Ok, again not unique but I love that movie and the soundtrack (a little background whistling please), and the 3 part story line works well for my points.

The good.  There are many many good things about running a one person company.  I could make a long list, but here are the obvious ones. I don’t have to make payroll. I don’t have to lay anyone off when times are tough. I don’t have to answer to anyone. I don’t have to follow company policy. I can wear what I want most everyday.

The bad. Although I like to stay positive, here are some bad things that I’ve realized.  I am not good at everything. It gets lonely.  It gets overwhelming.  Sometimes I get in a rut and can’t find a creative bone in my body.  But then I remember I don’t have to make payroll, lay anyone off, answer to anyone, follow company policy and can wear my pj’s all day if I want to.  Ah, it’s good again.

The ugly.  Again staying positive, but there is an ugly thing I’ve realized too.  My heart feels like it takes a bullet every time I get rejected. The feeling is the same whether I get rejected by a store or by a customer.  Being a person who likes to please, it’s hard being rejected by anyone.  I remind myself that I can’t make everyone happy.  That retailers want to play it safe and carry the brands that everyone knows by name.  That my bras/apparel won’t suit every woman.  I am sure all new companies go through their own variety of rejection and it’s part of the journey.  But it feels personal to me and therefore ugly.

I am sure if I’d read a book about being an entrepreneur before I started Sturdy Girl I could have read about the good, the bad and the ugly.  But then again, being the gal that I am it wouldn’t have meant much to me until I experienced it for myself.  Now I know where my kids got that trait.

I am happy to embrace and come to terms with the bad and the ugly, and plan to regularly remind myself of the good.  Because reminding myself of the good keeps me motivated and productive and my glass half full, and that is how you run a one person company.  More to come…